Gone muddin'

Hey ya'll. Don and I have spent a long day in the mud and rain harvesting and having a blast (kind of)- mostly because we are working together now! I've been full time out there for a whole week and a half. I miss my dear Topeca Coffee Roastery, but it has been awesome running my own business, getting organized, and playing in the dirt! Today, I harvested a bunch of spinach and Kale for the Wednesday farmer's market . That one is from 8am to noon at 41st and Peoria (Ace hardware parking lot). I hope it doesn't rain all morning!

If you don't know what to do with Kale, here is a recipe I came up with a few weeks ago. I had a friend call me the other day and tell me it was one of the best dishes he had ever cooked. Kale is a sturdy leafy green, too tough to eat raw in a salad, but tender enough that you don't want to cook it too long. The three basic ways to cook it are steaming, sauteeing, and stir fry. Here is a quick sautee recipe that really brings out and complements the kale flavor.

Ingredients:
a bunch of Kale (It cooks down a lot!)- washed and chopped in thin strips.
1 beet and/or 1 carrot - grated or sliced very thin.
hand full of chopped green onions (or green garlic from Three Springs Farm).
hand full of Almonds- slivered.
Butter or olive oil.
lemon juice.

In your cast iron skillet, start the butter sizzling on medium and toss the green onions and almonds in. when the almonds are golden, throw in the grated beets and/or carrots and sautee for another few minutes. Here is where I toss in some spices. I don't think you can go wrong with: black pepper, salt, tumeric, and a pinch of red pepper. Now toss in the kale and stir until it cooks down. Shouldn't take too long, maybe 2 or 3 minutes. Now, just add a squirt of lemon juice and you're done. Enjoy!


-Chelsea